Superheater for locomotives



H. INGERSOLL ET AL SUPERHEATER FOR I LOCOMOTIVES INVENTCRS Apr. 3, 1923, f Hfv lNGL-:RSOLL ET AL JS'UPERHEATR FOR LOCOMOTIVES Filed June 19, 1919 4 sheets-sheet 2v I,lal11111111llfrlllllfll'fllln U INVENTOH@ H. l.. INGERSOLL ET AL SUPERHEATER FOR LOCOMOTIVES Filed Juno 19, 1919 4 sheets-sheet 5 lNvENToRS H. L. INGERSOLL ET AL Apr; 3, 1923,

SUPERHATER FOR LOCOMOTIVES y Filed June 19, 1919 4 sheets-'sheet 4 fig/.5

Il r INVENTORS MW W WITNESS Patented Apr. 3, 1923.

UNITED4 STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOWARD L. INGERSOLL, or WHITE PLAINS, AND THOMAS L. BUivroN, or NEW f YORK, N. Y.

SUPERHEATER `FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

Application filed June' 19, 1919. Serial No. 305,223.

ful Improvements in Superheaters for Locomotivcs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its primary object the provision of an improved form of mechanism of the character speciied which willy supply superheated steam on a locomotive for the operation of the air compressor pump, the feed water heater pump, the engine devices used for operation of stokers, coal pushers and grate shakers, or any other apparatus requiring the use of steam from a locomotive boiler.

The ordinary form of locomotive superheater in which the steam used in the locomotive cylinders is superheatedby tubes connected with headers in the front end is well known and will not be here described in detail. Efforts have been heretofore made to arrange for the utilization of a portion of the superheated steam from such superheater mechanism in connection with other or auxiliary contrivances, but so far as we are aware the various arrangements that have been suggested have been so devised that the operation of the supplemental superheater means has had such relation to the main superheater elements as prevented independent -'action thereof. Such an arrangement does not meet the requirements which are encountered in service in the operation of some of the auxiliary contrivances above referred to, such for "example, as the air brake compressor pump, which, as is well known to air brake men, is called upon to do some of its heaviest IWork at a time when the engine throttle is closed andl The air pump on a locomotive is normally controlledby an automatic governor device Whlch shuts offthe pump when va certaln vpredetermined pressure has been accumulated in the container or main reservoir and, as a result of this automatic control, it follows that the .pumpvgenerally starts to operate after the throttle controlling the steam. to the main engine cylinders has beenclosed and an application of ,the-brake has .been made, as a result of which, on thel release of the brakes, there is reduction of the main reservoir pressure,.the automatic action of which upon the pump' governor tendsto` start the air pump into operation to .compress an additional supply of air in the main reservoir for further use in the brakes. Thus the accumulation of the major portion ofthe air required for the air brake takes place really While the train isbe-ing stopped, as for example, 'coming into a station when the locomotive is not working steam in the main cylinders at all.

A further object of this' invention is the provision of an auxiliary or supplemental superheater device which will be operated to superheat the steam used in the air pumps and other auxiliary contrivances on the locomotive, and by virtue of independent control, will be inaction when such supplemental devices are Operating and at other times will be out of action regardless of Whether or not at the same time the main superheater mechanism. is in service.

'In order to accomplish the results above, specified, We arrange to segregate a portion of the iues of the locomotive boiler and to separate or partition off the superheater elements mounted in said iues andthe header with which the same are connected, and toprOvide-such separated elements with independent control means actuated automatically from the devices to which the steam from these separate superheater elements is supplied.

Another object of this invention is the provision of an apparatus Of the character specified in which the parts will be easy'tov assemble and capable of ready removal for inspection or repair and will operate without interference with the main superheater device.

The above as well as such other objects as ,may hereinafter appear, we obtain by meansv for operating the damper by which We bring our supplemental superheater elements `into operation or shut them oft' when not required; Figure 5 is a sectional view of a modified arrangement of automatic control mechanism intended to be used in some laces instead of the apparatus shown in igure 4 and Figure 6 is still another modication followin generally the lines of the modification of Figure 5 but employing a suggested arrangement of pilot valve device for augmenting the power of the fluid pressure which actuates the damper means connected with the superheater.

Referring now more particularly to Figures l, 2, and 3, it will be seen that we have therein shown a diagrammatic outline of a locomotive having applied thereto a main air reservoir l such as is used on the air brake equipment, an air compressor pump marked 2, and a pipe for supplying steam to the pump which is controlled by the usual automatic governor 3 sub-ject in this case to the pressure of the main reservoir through the pipe 4.

The steam supply leading to the governor 3 is controlled by any ordinary form of throttle valve such as the globe valve 5 arran ed to be actuated by a handle 6 located in t e cab so as to control the How of steam through the pipe 7 which comes from the dry pipe 8 after the steam has passed through our auxiliary Ao'r independent superhea-ter element 9 at the forward end of the locomotive.

As a means for governing the flow of the'products of combustion or heat currents in our devices, we provide`a valve or damper mechanism 10 actuated by a rod 11 and bell crank lever 12 through the instrumentality of a piston device 13 which is placed in the exhaust pipe 14 leading from the air compressor pump out through the stack 15.

In Figure 2 we. have shown a sectional view that cuts through the header 16 of the usual or main superheater device a portion only of the units of which are shown in Fig. 3 at 16a; and located back of the header 16 is another header 17 connected with which there are three superheater elements 17a, 17", and 17 disposed within three of the llues occupying a position one above the other. The header 17 has an inlet at 18 shown more clearly in Figure 3, and an out let chamber at 19 which leads to the pipe 7 outside the boiler shell.

The superheater elements that are connected with the header 17 are preferably disposed in the vertical row of lues at the eXtreme side of the boiler shell as indicated in Figure 3 and the chamber in which they are located is separated from the remainlng space of the smoke box by a partition 20 and the passage of the products of combustion and heat outward from' the chamber at the right of the partition 20 is controlledby the dam er or butterfly valve 10 which is' secured to a sleeve connected with the crank 22 which latter is operated by the rod 11. 80

Referring now more particularly to Figure 4, it w1ll be seen that the rod 11 is connected to one arm of the bell crank lever 12, the other arm being connected to the piston 23, which latter is held down by a spring 24 unless raised by the pressure on its under side entering past the valve 25 from the interior of the pipe 14`which is the exhaust pipe of the air pump or compressor. When the pump is in operation the exhaust steam in the chamber 26- raises the valve 25 and acting on the under face of the piston 23 through the bell crank 12 and rod 11 opens the damper 10 so-as to allow a proper percentage of the products of combustion and heat to pass through the auxiliary. superheater flues and heat the supplemental superheater device. As soon as the pump is shut olf, as by operation of the throttle 5, what steam there is beneath the piston 23 100 may freely escape lthrough the small ports 27 allowing the piston to fall under the inluence of the spring or by force of gravity and assisted by the gravity lever -or counterbalance 22a generally applied to the arm 22, 105 thus closing the damper 10.

From study of Figure 3 it will be seen that the rocking shaft on which the main superheater damper 28 is mounted it trunnioned or' supported from the boiler shell 110 in the casting 29, but inside of the sleeve which forms the connection for the lever 22.

In Figure -5 we have shown a modified arrangement in which the piston 23 is constructed to be subjected to the pressure from three different pipe connections 30, 31 and 32, connection 30 coming from/the exhaust pipe from the air pump 14 and the other two connections being arranged to admit pressure'past the check valves 33 and 34 from 120 any other devices there may be in use on the locomotive employing steam power from the boiler, such, for example, as a Stoker engine or a pump for a feed water heater. Vith this arrangement as shown in Figure 5 it is clear that, which ever of these supplemental devices is in service, a supply of steam will enter below the piston 23 and actuate the damper 10 so as to bring the supplemental superheater device into action as long as the auxiliary mechanism is in service.

If it is found that, in certain conditions of service, the exhaust outlets from these supplemental contrivances do not keep up a sufficient pressure to properly actuate the piston 23, it may be desirable to adopt the mechanism which we have shown in Figure 6. In this figure the stem of the piston 23 is connected to a slide valve 35 controlling the passa-ge of air or other pressure coming through the pipe 36 and leading by the pipe 37 to the actuating cylinder 38, the piston 39 of which is connected in turn with the lever 22 of the damper 10, which latter is arranged to be returned by the action of the weight 40. Vhen the valve 35 is in the position shown in Figure 6 the exhaust port l is opened so that the piston 39 Will he at the right end of its travel With the damper 10 in closed position.

We claim:

A superheater apparatus for locomotives comprising in combination, an auxiliary superheater, a damper for said auxiliary superheater, a steam operated supplemental In testimony whereof, we have hereunto signed our names.

HOWARD L. INGERSOLL.

THOMAS L. BURTON. 

